Rep. John Lewis to Release Graphic Novel, ‘March’

Already a hero to many, this summer civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis will take on bad guys in his very own graphic novel. The comic is called “March” and it is a first-hand account of Lewis’ work and struggle for civil rights that the congressman co-authored himself.

“March” includes his key roles in the historic 1963 March on Washington and the 1965 Selma-Montgomery March as well as a brief history of Lewis’ life.

“Meditating in the modern age on the distance traveled since the days of Jim Crow and segregation,” Lewis’ character, “also reflects on the highs and lows of the broader civil rights movement,” says the office of John Lewis.

The comic is a collaboration with co-writer Andrew Aydin and artist Nate Powell, who is a winner of the Eisner Award and LA Times Book Prize finalist for his comic work on “Swallow Me Whole” and a NY Times Bestseller for “The Silence of Our Friends.”

The comic won’t just be a one-off, though. Lewis’ office reports the trio are planning to make “March” a graphic novel trilogy that will be released by Georgia-based publisher Top Shelf Productions, a company known for the award-winning works of Alan Moore, Craig Thompson, and Jeff Lemire.

March is a historic first, both for the U.S. Congress and for comics publishing as a whole, marking the first time a sitting member of Congress has authored a graphic novel. Top Shelf Productions is the first and only graphic novel publisher to be certified by the House Committee on Standards.

The first volume, “March (Book One),” will appear in stores everywhere on August 13, two weeks before the country is set to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs & Freedom.

For more information and a 14-page preview of the graphic novel, visit http://www.topshelfcomix.com/march.